1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



183 



I 



tables, and I had to wait till many had left before I 

 could get near enough to see them satisfactorily. 

 The great feature of the show was the flowering 

 pot plants. This was wonderfully rich, and aftbrdeu 

 a grand illustration of the enterprise of English ama- 

 teui'3 and nurserymen, as well as of the patience, 

 perseverence, and skill of the gardeners. Most of 

 the specimens were of large size, trained and pruned 

 into perfectly regular forms and covered densely with 

 blossoms. 



Heaths figured prominently. i\Iany were so large 

 that one person could not lift them, trained in pyra- 

 mids or globes, and so covered with flowers that 

 scarce a leaf could be seen. They looked more arti- 

 ficial than natural. I noted two yellow sorts that 

 struck me, in several collections, as being very fine 

 — Depressa and Cavendishii, Azaleas (Chinese) were 

 largely shown, and like the Heaths, the specimens 

 were superb, perfect masses of bloom. I noted a 

 very beautiful striped (red and white) one, Gledstans- 

 sii, in many collections. i)ecorflr, a crimson variety; 

 Variegata, rose and pink ; Minerva, a scarlet crim- 

 son ; and Optima, scarlet ; were all particularly fine. 



Of Orchids, there was a magnificient show, de- 

 cidedly the most interesting part of the exhibition to 

 collectors of rare plants. What curious and geor- 

 geous plants these are. I noted extraordinary spec- 

 imens of Cattleyas, StanJiopeas, Oncidiums, JDen- 

 drohiums, Saccolobiums, and JVepeiiihes ; the last 

 named is the curious pitcher plant. There were 

 many species shown, and among them a beautiful 

 blood-red one, (Sanguinea.) In this department our 

 Sarracenia, or side saddle, figured. 



Of Geraniums there was a fair display, by Gaijtes, 

 of Battersea ; Hhnberson, of St. John's wood ; and 

 some others. I noted as the most striking varieties, 

 JYepaulcse Prince, Forget me not, Conspicua, Paint- 

 ed Lady, Star, and Rosamond, considerable attention 

 seems to be directed, to the fancy sorts, and one or 

 two good collections were presented. Anette, Alboni, 

 Prima Donna, Mrs. Loudon, (^ueen Victoria, and 

 Princesse Marie Gallitzin, are half a dozen that 

 struck me as the best. The cape species of geran- 

 ium are beginning to attract attention, and several 

 very brilliant ones were shown. They are showy 

 and distinct. 



Roses were scarce. The season for out door or 

 open ground exhibitions of them is at hand, and that 

 probably prevented their exhibition in pots at this 

 time. Lane fc Sons, well known growers, had the 

 principal collection. I noticed some superb speci- 

 mens of Souvenir de la Malmaison, the flowers of 

 monstrous size, the plants were large and very vigor- 

 ous. Really, after all, it is hard to equal this famous 

 rose. Two poor specimens of Geant des Batailles 

 were shown ; but poor as they were, they attracted 

 attention by their peculiar richness and brilliancy of 

 color. Madam Plantier was shown fine, and a 

 charming white rose it is. So is Miss Glegg, and 

 Amie Vihert, among noisettes. Clara Wendel and 

 JVe plus ultra were among them too, and are both 

 first rate yellows. Among teas, Devoniensis, Paul- 

 ine Plantier, and Viscomte des Gazes, all yellow, 

 were shown, and they are all good. In form the first 

 is the best, and the last the deepest colored, like 

 Chromatella ; and by the way, this was not shown. 

 A few poor specimens of common sorts of Hybrid 

 Perpetual, and Hybrid Bourbons, and Chinas, Avere 

 shown, but unworthy of notice. 



Verbenas, none worth naming. Petunias, a few 



very large, but of dull, poor colors— our seedling's at 

 home much better. 



Calceolarias, (seedlings,) a superb show. The 

 florists here are all raising finely spotted sorts. Tho 

 flowers are very large ; the ground color, from a pale 

 straw to deep yellow, with spots of all shades of red, 

 brown, and purple. Large plants like these, with 20 

 or 30 flower stems, each bearing many flowers, and 

 all tied up and spread out in great regularity, are 

 very pretty indeed, and made a bright spot on the 

 stage. 



Pansies and Daisies I expected to see wonderfully 

 fine, but found theni decidedly poor. So of pinks. 

 In fact, nothing-- among them all was worth naming ; 

 but Ranuncuhts were fine. Among miscellaneous 

 articles, I must mention Pimelias. Some of the 

 specimens were of enormous size, and perfect masses 

 of bloom. P. Spectabilis, a white one, did not show 

 a leaf, its form was a globe, and it looked like a great 

 ball of snow. Of Aphlexis, or Helychrysus, there 

 were ■ a large number of beautiful specimens, the 

 most showy plants exhibited. The flowers are of 

 various shades of purple, and resemble the raesem- 

 bryanthemums. Of Gardenia Fortuni there were 

 several noble plants, the leaves very large and glossy, 

 and the flowers as large as Camellia, and not unlike 

 a double white. Hoya alia; or white wax plant, is 

 a beautiful thing. A great pillaf of Stephanotus fio- 

 rubandui was shown, very attractive* Besides these, 

 I might mention the Ixora Coccinea, v'.'ith its im- 

 mense clusters of orange and scarlet flowers ; Clero- 

 dendron Fallox, and other species, with great leaves 

 and scarlet flowers ; Saslicia Carnosa LcchenaultiaSf 

 and many other things, remarkable for the size and 

 perfection of the specimena and the showy character 

 of the plants themselves. 



Lengthy as is this notice, I cannot close it without 

 mentioning the grand display of '* American plants," 

 Rhododendrons and Azaleas, by Mr. Waterer, of 

 Surry. This occupied a separate corner of the gar- 

 den. The specimens were planted out in regular 

 flower garden style, arranged both in regard to size 

 and color of blossom, with the best taste. They 

 covered from one-fourth to half an acre, and surpass- 

 ed in brilliancy anything of the kind I have seen be- 

 fore. There were among the collection some large 

 Rhododendrons, worth $120 each. Amongthe Rho- 

 dodendrons, I noted as particularly striking, atrosan- 

 guinea, deep blood red ; Candidum, pale blush ; 

 Oeyiatum, deep rose ; Coeleslinum, pale lilac. The 

 Azaleas were tastefully mingled with the Rhododen- 

 drons, and by the brilliant yellow, orange, and scar- 

 let, produced a fine efiect. I find I must defer fur- 

 ther notices of this kind, as well as notes made of 

 interesting objects in the Society's garden, till 

 another time. ^__^___ ^' ^' 



THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 



London, June 9, 1351. 

 Dear Sir :^Were it not that I shall have no other 

 opportunity to write before the sailing of the steamer 

 on Wednesday next, I would not yet attempt to say 

 anything in regard to. the exhibition, for I have only 

 spent one day in it, and I found that not enough to 

 study the geography of the building and its arrange- 

 ment. To go into an examination of its contents, 

 and a comparison of them, will involve no little time 

 and labor. I can say this much now, that, extrava- 

 gant as my ideas were respecting the vastness of this 

 structure, and the almost infinite variety of its con- 



